The Tyrant's Pet

<strong>"Don't… go back there, Your Highness. It might sound pretentious of me, but the crown prince scares me. He was cruel to those who opposed him, but the depths of his cruelty to those who betray him are far more ominous. He will not let you off easily."</strong>

Roman let out a deep sigh and snapped his eyes as those words days ago repeated in his head. He gazed at the empty hallway and trod carefully, recalling the look on Violet's face when she asked him to stay.

He loved her for years — even before Violet and Carlos got married or even met.

He should've married her. He already planned on proposing to the most beautiful woman he laid his eyes on. However, it was obvious his plan didn't head that route. Carlos got in the way; the man who had always hated Roman for one reason.

Apparently, Carlos found out about Roman's inkling towards this certain princess. When he saw Violet, he understood why. Considering the surname she carried, unlike Roman, who believed love should be the foundation of marriage, Carlos believed in the benefits he would gain in marriage.

So Carlos eventually married Violet under the guise of being her pen pal. Still, this wasn't enough for Carlos to tear Roman's morale for all the years the eighth prince endured being compared to the revered seventh prince.

Carlos challenged Roman in a duel and scarred the seventh prince's face forever. In this way, Violet wouldn't even bat him an eye and Roman would be too ashamed to even approach his wife.

That was why the Roman only loved Violet at arm's length.

He kept this secret for years, and Violet didn't even know. She kept believing that the man she fell in love with and who fulfilled his promise to marry her was Carlos. Not knowing she was simply caught in the web of lies.

Knowing that now wouldn't change the past. Violet eventually loved Carlos and had children with him. A lot had happened and they couldn't reverse the time to change their decisions. They could only accept that they couldn't change the past and could simply do what they must in the future.

'Princess Violet...' Roman whispered in his head as his office came into sight. '... I'm sorry.'

He never said no to her, but when she asked him to stay, he couldn't agree, no matter how he wanted to. She didn't ask him to stay and continue the love that didn't even bloom. Violet only wanted him to stay to avoid Joaquin's wrath once the crown prince found out about Roman's agenda.

Roman stopped in front of the door with his hand on the handle. He raised his gaze, staring at the door sharply. His gut feeling told him someone was inside and he definitely knew what to expect.

His jaw tightened. 'There's no turning back now.' — from this moment on, everyone could only move forward. It wouldn't matter if they were heading straight to the cliffs of hell or the gates of salvation. They — Roman could only move forward because he had no other choice but that.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. As soon as he did, his eyes fell on the figure sitting behind the desk, feet up. Roman secretly clenched his teeth, seeing Joaquin leisurely polishing the blades of his dagger before the latter paused.

Joaquin slowly cocked his head back and set his eyes on the door. The side of his lips curled up before he retracted his feet from the desk, stabbing the dagger into the surface of the desk.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness," greeted Roman with his fist across his chest, and then closed the door behind him. His eyes moved to the corner and caught Hernan standing in the corner.

"Rome, my brother." Joaquin smiled, pushing himself from the chair and propping his side against the edge of the desk, arms crossed. "I am in a pretty bad mood, my sword. Care to explain where were you during the hunting competition? I heard you just went away in a hurry and returned... immediately dropping by in the third prince's chancery."

The crown prince's eyes drooped as a hair-raising glint flickered across his eyes. "You are my sword and my trusted aide. I will give you a chance to explain. But just so you know, don't even think about going in circles. I don't think I have the patience to spare after losing quite a few people."

"People... that only a selected few knew their connections to me," he added and arched a brow.

Roman maintained a straight face despite the insinuation. The crown prince wasn't stupid not to be suspicious of him; he wouldn't reach this far if he was easily fooled.

"I had pledged to make you king. Everything I do is for my king and for this great country." The seventh prince hung his head low. "If my king cannot trust me, then I do not mind slitting my throat to prove my loyalty."

"Hah..." Joaquin laughed in amusement as he rocked his head. Roman's determination had always been believable and commendable. The reason the crown prince trusted him and took him in was because of the same reason.

"Go ahead." His smile faded as his expression darkened, waiting for Roman to raise his head. "Slit your throat, Rome. Only when you're dead will I know you were loyal to me. There's no other way, I guess."

Roman's jaw tightened as he sized the crown prince up. The latter was serious, and he was surely suspecting him. A shallow breath slipped past the seventh prince's lips before he drew his sword. Without a second hesitation, Roman placed the blade against the side of his neck with his other hand on the back of the blade.

"It was an honor to serve you, Your Royal Highness." His eye held Joaquin's solemnly. "Long live the crown prince, my king."

With that being said, Roman gritted his teeth as he pressed the blade into his neck until blood oozed from it. But just before he sliced it down completely to his throat, Joaquin spoke.

"Stop." Joaquin's eyes gazed at the blood across Roman's neck and, by the looks of the slash, the latter truly planned to kill himself. He picked up the dagger standing erected on the desk and then sauntered towards Roman.

Standing in front of the seventh prince, Joaquin's eyes didn't show the slightest pity.

"Roman, my dearest sword, you know very well I wouldn't want you dead... at least, not now." Joaquin raised the dagger and pressed the blade against Roman's cheek, slicing it just enough for it to scar. "I will let you off now since you served me for years. But once I figured out you're making a fool out of me, I will kill all those people you've been protecting and I will make sure you will watch them get dismembered before you."

Joaquin smirked as he marked an X on Roman's cheek while blood oozed from it. Ignoring the oozing blood from Roman's neck, the crown prince patted his shoulder before he walked past Roman.

"Let's go, Hernan. I still need to visit my wife."